Benefits of the New API - Learn OpenGL ES: For Mobile Game and Graphics Development - page 1

Chapter 1
Benefits of the New
API
In this chapter I introduce you to OpenGL ES 2.0, and account for its increasing pop-
ularity compared to older graphic rendering APIs for embedded devices. I describe
OpenGL ES 2.0's support from computer-graphics communities and leading embed-
ded and mobile device vendors, which helps to ensure its increasing popularity. Fin-
ally, I show how easy it is to get started with ES 2.0 on Android devices, when we take
our first step towards game development, by creating a blank OpenGL surface view.
This chapter assumes you have some experience of setting up Android Software
Development Kit (SDK) for Eclipse and installing SDK Platform for various API
levels from SDK Manager.
Modern Graphic-rendering API
OpenGL ES (Open Graphics Library for Embedded Systems) is an API (Application
Programming Interface) for rendering 3D graphics on embedded devices, such as mo-
biles, tablets, and gaming consoles.